Vedanta restarts operations at Gamsberg zinc mine in South Africa

Vedanta Zinc International (VZI) has restarted operations at its Gamsberg Open Pit Mine in South Africa’s Northern Cape Province.

All mining activities at the mine have been suspended since 17 November 2020 following a geotechnical failure, which trapped 10 employees.

Reuters cited Vedanta Zinc International management as saying in an emailed response: “The Department of Mineral Resources and Energy granted permission to commence stockpile feed and mining at the East Pit in the last portion of December, followed by permission to commence mining at the West Pit in the first week of January.

“No ore mining production occurred in December, with a gradual ramp-up expected in January.”

The mine is located about 30km from Black Mountain Mining in the Northern Cape province of South Africa.

VZI own 69.6% of the Gamsberg mine with 24.4% owned by Exxaro Resources. The remaining 6% is owned by the Employee Share Ownership Plan.

The closure of the Gamsberg mine raised supply concerns, resulting in increased prices for zinc, according to Reuters.

In March last year, Vedanta Zinc opened the $400m first phase of the Gamsberg mine.

FLSmidth in negotiations to buy mining arm of Thyssenkrupp

Mining equipment maker FLSmidth has confirmed that it is in talks to acquire the mining business of German engineering group Thyssenkrupp.

FLSmidth said that the negotiations are currently at a non-binding stage.

The deal would be subject to statutory clearances from authorities, including approvals from merger control authorities, amongst others.

Reuters reported that FLSmidth is considering buying parts of Thyssenkrupp’s Plant Technology division, which also includes the mining equipment business.

Other businesses within the Thyssenkrupp’s Plant Technology division include a chemical plant and a cement plant.

The move to sell its Plant Technology division follows Thyssenkrupp reporting a €235m loss in earnings before interest and tax in its last fiscal year ending 30 September 2020, reported Australian Mining.

Thyssenkrupp reported a 41% reduction in order intake within its mining and service units in the 2019/2020 fiscal year, compared with the prior year as a result of ‘restraint in the award of large projects’.

The company received interest from several potential parties by November 2020 for ‘various constellations in Plant Technology’.

Codelco reinforces precautionary measures against coronavirus

Chilean state-owned copper miner Codelco has announced that it will update its precautionary measures against Covid-19.

The latest move is in response to a recent rise in infections in the South American nation.

Codelco, from this week, started to proactively reinforce its plans to prevent the spread of the virus at its operations, as well as surrounding communities.

The measures, which include a reduction in the workforce, come several months after Codelco restarted normal operations following the initial peak of the virus around May last year.

The company managed to maintain its output throughout the pandemic.

In a press statement, Codelco stated: “In community matters, the copper company is coordinating with the local authorities of the neighbouring communes to its work centres, located between the regions of Antofagasta and O’Higgins, new collaborations to curb infections.

The company is improving sanitation measures in public and high-traffic areas and delivering copper furniture and supplies. The metal has antimicrobial properties.

So far, Chile has reported more than 656,000 cases of the infection and 17,000 deaths from the disease, according to Reuters.

India’s approval of mining acts to aid private investments

The Indian Government has today approved several mining act amendments that could allow for large private investments through auctions of nearly 500 leases, doubling production in the country over the next two to five years.

The amendment bill will next be presented before the Indian Parliament as part of a budget session.

The mining sector reform proposals were first introduced on 16 May by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman as part of the Atmanirbhar package.

Among the proposals is the amendment of the contentious provisions of 10A(2)(b) and 10A (2)(c) to pave the way for the auctioning of around 500 potential leases, currently blocked in legacy issues.

“These (blocks) can neither be granted, because the time period to grant them is already over, nor can they be brought to auction, because of legal impasse.

"These cases coming under section 10A (2)(c) of the Act, which stood extinguished in 12 January 2017 as per the law, but are still litigated or pursued unnecessarily at various levels, need to be brought to a closure to end the policy stalemate,” the Ministry of Mines said earlier this year.

The actioning is expected to take place a few months after the act is amended.

Another proposal that focuses on captive and non-captive mining can be positive for firms with captive mines, as they can now sell their output in the open market, a move that could also boost revenues and increase supplies in the country.

Philippines orders halt of mining activities on Tumbagan Island

The Government of Philippines has ordered a halt to mining activities on Tumbagan Island in Languyan, in the southern province of Tawi-Tawi, which is home to nickel projects.

In a media briefing, Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles said the Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte directed authorities to push for rehabilitation of the land including planting more trees.

“The island has, at this point, been mined out. And while rehabilitation efforts are under way, the president is issuing a directive to stop any and all mining,” Nograles said.

The country’s Mines and Geosciences Bureau does not closely monitor the mining activities in the province as it is classified as an autonomous region.

The order does not include the country’s nickel mining region of Caraga.

SR Languyan Mining in 2019 stated that the island’s ore reserves have been almost depleted due to continuous ore extraction for several years.

The Philippines has been a supplier of nickel ores to China ever since Indonesia imposed a ban on the export of unprocessed minerals in January 2020.

The country’s low-grade material is used in the production of nickel pig iron, which is a primary ingredient for producing stainless steel.

Since Duterte came to power in 2016, he has repeatedly warned that mining operations could be halted if they were damaging the environment.

Debswana terminates $1.3bn contract with Thiess

De Beers-owned Debswana Mining Company has reportedly terminated a $1.3bn contract with a unit of Australian firm Thiess to extend lifespan of Botswana’s Jwaneng diamond mine.

Debswana and the Botswana government said that the project will be carried out in-house, according to Reuters.

Thiess secured the initial contract in March 2019 through Majwe Mining, a joint venture between Thiess (70%) and long-term local partner Bothakga Burrow Botswana (30%).

Debswana declined to provide any reason for terminating the contract for the extension project, which is named Cut 9.

The nine-year project is expected to extend Jwaneng’s life until 2035. The extension will see production of an estimated 53 million carats of rough diamonds.

The contract awarded to Thiess in 2019 followed Majwe’s completion of the Cut 8 project at the Jwaneng diamond mine in November 2018.

Reuters cited Debswana corporate affairs head Rachel Mothibatsela as stating: “The Cut 9 operation will transition to an owner-mining operation, with some of the key services and resources, such as labour, being provided by contractors/service providers to Jwaneng Mine.”

The Jwaneng diamond mine is located in South Central Botswana, about 160 miles southwest of Gaborone.